Europe Trip 2012 - Part 2

So after the party, Tuesday morning we packed up to drive to Normandy.  There were 13 of us in 3 cars, so it was quite the undertaking to get all of our stuff ready to go.

Cars being packed.

Older boys ready to go.

Younger boys ready to go.

Sweetie Pie ready to go.

The drive took about 9 hours, but we stopped several times along the way.  Most of the way we were on toll roads, so there were not many choices of places to stop.  Lunch was from the gas station and really not too bad - not like the gas stations in the US.

Ham and cheese sandwich for lunch.

The scenery on our drive was amazing.  These are a few shots I took while we were on the road.

We finally arrived at the farmhouse - Les Quatre Vents -  where we were staying (after a brief stop at the grocery store).  We were pleasantly surprised!!!  It was beautiful - amazing views.  The farmhouse was built in the 18th century - the one we stayed in actually used to be the barn!  The farm had been there since the 1760's - older than the United States!  What an experience it was for all of us.  And if you are wondering where we found this place - check out vrbo.com (vacation rentals by owner) - you can find cool places all over the world.

Farmhouse where we stayed.

Owners house across the courtyard.

The back of the farmhouse with the garden. 

Living room.

One of the bedrooms.

Kitchen window.

One of the views from the house.

Another view from the house.

The drive into the house was really cool - lots of old buildings and places along the side of the road that were fascinating.  Really wish I knew some of the stories of these old buildings.

When we were at the farmhouse, the kids enjoyed the time in the backyard - playing games, swinging, and just hanging out.

Europe Trip 2012 - Part 1

We just returned from an amazing trip to Switzerland and France.  I am still trying to process all that we did and saw, so bear with me as I try to recount it all for you - I am sure this will take several days and many posts. :)

My sister and her family have lived in Geneva, Switzerland for almost a year.  Her husband is in the Air Force and he has been attending a school over there.  Our "excuse" for going was that they were there, and her husband was pinning on Colonel.

SO... my parents, my hubby, kids, and I packed our bags and we were on our way!  John's parents were also going to join us - in all there would be 13 of us all together.

Crammed in the backseat, but excited to be on our way!

The boys, my mom, and me on the shuttle.

We headed to the airport on June1 and our check in and first flight went relatively smoothly.  We flew from DFW to Dullus International (Washington DC).  We were on schedule for our second flight (where John's parents would join us).  John's parents were delayed, but we were boarding our aircraft.  We got all settled in when a thunderstorm passed over the airport and shut things down.  As that passed, we were informed that one of our pilots had just gotten sick and we would have to de-plane as we waited for another pilot to show up. God orchestrated these events just perfectly, that while we were waiting on the pilot, John's parents caught up to us and were then able to catch the flight with us!  After a bit of waiting, we finally boarded and were on our way - only 4 hours late!

We arrived to a beautiful day in Geneva!!!!  We headed down to Lake Geneva to get some pictures and get the only view of Mount Blanc and the Swiss Alps we would have on this trip!  We then boarded the train into Geneva (Anji actually lives in Versoix) and went to a fondue restaurant.  Amazing!!!!

Family Picture at Lake Geneva with snow covered Mount Blanc in the background.

View from my sister's backyard - the Jura mountains in France.

Yummy fondue (and meat plate in the background)!

Our group at the fondue restaurant!

The next day, we loaded up and headed up to Gruyere, Switzerland.  We toured the Cailler Chocolate Factory, the Gruyere Cheese Factory, and the Gruyere Castle.  It rained off and on the whole day, but we still had spectacular views!
The Cailler Chocolate Factory was a huge hit with everyone - there is even all you can eat chocolate at the end of the tour!  Yum!

Cailler Chocolate Factory!  

Eating as much chocolate at they could get their hands on!

Our stash of chocolate!

The Gruyere Cheese Factory was very interesting - you can try Gruyere cheese here in the US for a price.  :)

The boys in front of the room where the cheese is aging.

The Gruyere Castle was fascinating and beautiful!

Church in the Gruyere medieval village with a beautiful little cemetery.

One of the views from the castle.

Another view from the castle - breathtaking even in the rain!

A group shot at the castle.

Our last day in Geneva was spent at Anji's house, preparing for a promotion/graduation party for John and his classmates.  We had a great time and it was fun to meet people from all over the world that had been in class with John.

A picture from the party.

The back of Anji's house and a shot of the party.

My sister and me.

Basketball

M decided he wanted to play basketball again this year, so we signed up for Upward at our church and off we went!

The boys took a few weeks to warm up to each other - they had some really good games and they had some games that we wondered if they even showed up.  :)

One of the really neat things they did this year was set up a tournament for the 5th and 6th grade teams.  At the end of the season, they played several games in a week.  The boys really came together during this time and played amazingly well.  It was so much fun to watch them play!  They won their first three games, but lost their last game by 1.  They boys were heartbroken and tears flowed, but I have never seen boys that age play so hard and leave their hearts on the court.  They had two amazing coaches that really encouraged them to grow as basketball players as well as godly young men.  We were very blessed!

Here are a few pictures from the year:

 The boys were perfecting "Tebowing."

Christmas and Baylor

I have decided I HAVE to be better about keeping up with my blog. I am making that a goal this year! I hope that even if I fall down, I will get back up and try again. So, here it goes...

The boys had the whole week before Christmas off, so we took off for the ranch (just outside of Del Rio). It was great hunting weather for the boys and I did not see much of them while we were there. They can be outside for hours - really quite nice - and I am so glad they are old enough to go out on their own!

G killed an Axis deer this year. For those of you that don't know, axis are native to Africa - they have spots and long, tall antlers. G was SO excited! Maybe one of these days I will have all my pictures uploaded so I can be current with those too. :) M also killed a VERY nice 8 point buck. Both of these will be gracing our walls in the not so distant future!

We returned to my parent's house in New Braunfels for Christmas and most of the week afterwards. While I have always been a Baylor fan, this year was more fun for us than most! We were thrilled in December when RG3 (Robert Griffen III), Baylor's quarterback, won the Heisman trophy. This was the first time in Baylor's history! What a class act he is! We were even more excited to find that Baylor would be playing in San Antonio in the Alamo Bowl. My dad was able to secure us tickets, so we got all decked out and off we went! We ended up having seats in the first level about 25 rows back on the 40 yard line! They were amazing. If you didn't see the game, the score ended up more like a basketball score than football, but Baylor pulled it out in the end with a 67-56 win over Washington. It was definitely a game to remember for all of us!

We were able to get up to Oklahoma for a few days at New Years. It is always so good to get to see friends and family, even for a short time.

After 2 weeks away from home, we were ready to get home and unpack! It is fun to get away, but always good to get back to your own bed and your own home!

 

Looking forward to hearing from all of you! Thanks for checking in on us (hopefully I can give you a reason to check in more often)!

Here are a few pictures from Game Day!

Time with Family

The boys headed off to New Braunfels to Cousin's Camp in early June.  My mom had gone to get my sister's kids from California and they all arrived on the same day for a week of fun.  They spent most of their time in the water - Schlitterbahn (several times) and tubing the river are their favorite activities for Cousin's Camp!
This year ended up being a little different.  My sister and her family were in the middle of a move during this time.  They were being transferred (by the Air Force) from California to Geneva, Switzerland so they showed up in New Braunfels about mid week.  James and I were able to join them for the weekend so we could all spend some time together before Anji and her family headed on the next part of their journey.  It was a great time for all of us and the boys enjoyed being with their cousins for a time.  This is a treasured time for all of us each year!

The kids and moms playing mini golf!  It was HOT!

The Big Boys.  Can't believe they will be middle schoolers!

The "little" boys.  They are not so little anymore - both double digits!

The munchkin!  She thought M hung the moon!  What a doll!